About 30 years ago, my uncle had a faded red ’68 Firebird. I’m not sure I ever saw it move under its own power, but I was sure sad when he let it go. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan of first-and-second-generation Firebirds, and this one sure resembles the one in my memory.
You might know the story. John DeLorean really wanted a sports car of his own for Pontiac, the Banshee. GM brass told him it wasn’t happening – it was an F-Body variant or nothing. By that point, Pontiac had to do their best to make the Camaro their own, and I’ve always thought they did an amazing job considering the time crunch. The pointed nose could only come from Pontiac, and few side marker lights are cooler than the little arrowheads on the ’68 Firebird’s quarter panels. Finally, those Rally IIs round out the Firebird’s perfect stance.
The seller of this Firebird says that it’s “basically restored minus paint,” which was his/her personal preference. The interior certainly looks nice with its black buckets and “woodgrained” console.
The car is also described as being rust free, and this trunk floor bears out that claim. You’ll never see a trunk like this in the Midwest, at least one that is original to the car; the Las Vegas life seems to have its advantages when it comes to Firebirds.
One potential demerit to this particular Firebird lies under that pointed hood – it’s a Chevy ZZ350 crate engine. While everyone knows that the Chevy small block is one of the best, Pontiac purists are proud people. To assuage the uproar over the engine swap, the seller claims that the original drivetrain will come with the car. If the hood callouts are correct, that would be a Pontiac 350.
An upside to the swap? It’s mated to a 700R4.
The seller says that this was his/her daily driver at one time, but that time has passed and it doesn’t get driven too often anymore. It was built to take the Las Vegas heat, so it runs cool (even if the driver doesn’t – there’s no air conditioning compressor in the photos).
Still, if you don’t mind two windows down at 60 miles per hour, and you like the patina look, this could be the Firebird for you. It’s currently for sale on eBay with a high bid of $6800 and a Buy it Now price of $28,000.
Last time it was listed on eBay someone hit the buy it now, but didn’t pay. There is a lot more left to do beyond just bodywork for this “restoration”, the interior is far from fully restored the cracks/splits on the drivers side door panel, available in pairs starting at $500, to the worn out finish on the center console, questionable gauge installation. Then you get to the engine compartment and the missing AC, and the engine, there is no specific ZZ350 engine, just engines with a ZZ prefix in various configurations, with an ask of $28,000 the potential buyers should know exactly what they are getting. New carpet, seat covers, clear coating the roof, performing an engine swap and disc brake conversion are a long way from restored. This makes for a good potential project if you don’t care it has a Chevy engine, but anywhere close to $28,000 should get you a better starting point.
Steve R
$28k? Hard pass. Could fine a nicer bird in better shape for $28k.
Hmm, ’68… has anyone ever made a ’68 “Yenko” Firebird? That might be kinda cool – it’s not like this can be a numbers-matching car. $28k seems pretty steep, to me, but then I feel that way in general about virtually every muscle/collectable car I see for sale.
I have owned two of these in my time and it’s a crying shame about the small block Chevy being put in place of the Poncho power plant. The old Pontiac engines are fantastic torque monsters.
Had a 68 Firebird convertible with 400 engine in 1977. Wish i still had it
A buy it now at 28K? Not worth it, it’s not a Cuda.
my wife and I were looking between a 67 Camaro and 67 Firebird, They both were almost identical, even down to the Champagne Gold with Black vinyl top, We were at the chevy dealer across the street from the Pontiac dealer, I asked the salesman what is the real difference between the two vehicles, they were almost the same price, The salesman said “Buddy”, All that Firebird is , is a Glorified Camaro, I look at my wife, she said ” Tom” I want the Glorified Camaro, We left ,went across the street and bought that Beautiful Firebird, and I miss it till this day
Cool wife!